Venture Review

VENTURE REVIEW No.25

Article

Mitsutoshi Furuya/Hironori Higashide

Internal Communication Process Model of Growing Venture Companies, Which Increases Employees’ Satisfaction

 Internal communication is a strategic management theme in the course of a company growth and an organizational development.Intrinsically, internal communication should be considered as a process. However, there have been a limited number of studies to explore the internal communication process.
 In order to explore and identify the relationship between a venture-growth and internal communication process, the author investigated 10 cases of small, medium and large sized venture companies, which employee numbers are from 10 to 650. Unfortunately, the process model was not saturated. Then, the author investigated 2 fast-growing and bigger-sized venture companies, which have increased the number of employees by over 2 times in the past 5 years up to approximately 3,000.
 The researches were conducted by interviews and surveys of top/middle/front employees in order to identify communication intentions and actions of presidents and middle managers, as well as reactions and responses of employees against such actions.
 Using Grounded Theory Approach (GTA), the data was analyzed and the internal communication process model was identified.The model consists of concepts, categories and process map of internal communication process.It presents various internal communications propagated in the organization, initiated by the presidents' communication intention (originating category) and resulted in the employee's
satisfaction (terminating category).
 With limitations, the author showed practical usefulness of the model for growing venture companies and the future research area for further improvement. Utilizing the process model, the presidents and the managements may check the employees' satisfaction level of the internal communication in their organization and consider the communication strategy to enhance the satisfaction for successful organizational development.

Key words:Internal Communication Process,Grounded Theory Approach

Yoshikazu Fujino

The Logic of Long-Term Management by Family Manager

 The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it is directed to a pharmaceutical industry, to analyze the relationship of the family management and strategy using the strategy group. Second, to point out the problem awareness analysis and viewing angle that has been overlooked in the family business research based on the analysis.
 Two become clear by this study. First, the import strategy helped the management of long-term view. Secondly, the superiority of the import strategy, collapsed in the Japanese market strengthening by foreign firms. Finally, the big companies of scale tended to end the family manager in the process of conversion to export from imports.

Key words:Pharmaceutical Industry,Mobility Barrier, Import Strategy Group,Management of a Long-Term View by Family Manager

Case Study

Takayuki Kimura

Social Innovation as Re-combination of Interests by Use of Unused Real Estates

 In recent years, constructing the social innovation theory based on entrepreneurs'concepts related to city planning study is receiving a lot of attention. Existing studies have been conducted to analyze re-combination of interests for mobilizing local people with vested rights (stakeholders). As for existing studies, excessive attention was paid on sharing of value based on cognitive legitimacy and innovation
based on social legitimacy, integration of abstract level. Therefore, it is a low reproducibility description model.
 This theoretical limitation can be solved by building the arena by a new value, arranging physical entities and creating businesses based on a concept of Re-combination of interests. To prove this empirically, regional regeneration carried out by KUROKABE corporation in Nagahama city and KITAKYUSHUYAMORI-SYA corporation in
Kitakyushu city is examined. In this example, the physical entity, an unused real estate enabled mobilization of resources of stakeholders and realized the regional regeneration program. Key words: Community regeneration, Social innovation, City planning, Use of unused real estates, Re-combination of interests

Key words:Community regeneration, Social innovation, City planning, Use of unused real estates, Re-combination of interests

VENTURE REVIEW No.26

Article

Mitsutoshi Furuya/Hironori Higashide

Impact of Smartphone-based Thanks Card on Internal Communication Satisfaction and Dedication

The thanks-card is used to breed "the feeling of thanks" and "culture to praise" between employees mainly in big companies. It is one of the prevailing internal communication methods for such purposes. In many organizations, simple paper cards are used for the thanks-card operation and there are many successful cases, especially in the service-industry (e.g., a hotel, a restaurant, a shop, an airline, a logistic company). However, such paper-based activities require organizational support and a dedicated team to maintain the systematic operation. Considering operating costs and workforces with paper-based message exchange, companies may hesitate to start the thanks-cad activity.
In late years, some venture companies,
including Japan, have started thanks-card service to be usable for a PC and a smart phone and provide such service as cloud service. Using such service, companies are able to introduce thanks-card operation with much less effort.
With this paper, the author reports an empirical study on effects of a smart phone-based thanks-card in a distributed small-sized shop organization, using thank-card cloud service provided by a Japanese startup. 5 restaurant-chain shops, which contain of about 15 to 40 employees in a shop, were adopted for the
study. The author measured changes of employees' internal communication satisfaction, job satisfaction and dedication, one of the 3 workengagement concepts, before and after the smart-phone thanks-card operation. As a result, employees' satisfaction of horizontal communication and job satisfaction were improved after the 2.5-month thanks-card operation. Analyzing the quantity of message and contents, practical implications to send effective messages to influence employees' feeling were also indicated.
With limitations, the author showed practical usefulness of the smart phone-based thanks-card in a shop organization, and the future research possibilities, by expanding its operations to other industries and/or larger organizations.

Key words:Thanks-cards, Dedication, Internal Communication Satisfaction

Case Study

Misanori Takahashi/Shigenori Oe

Introducing Amoeba Management in Venture Company

It's known that introduction of Amoeba management to venture company can achieve high profits and high value-added. Previous studies on Amoeba management have separately explained the relation between the high profits realized by rigorous management accounting system and the high value-added realized by educational systems of management philosophy.
Consequently, they have paid only little attention to the reason of arising innovative attitude of employees by the rigorous management accounting system.
In this paper, thereby, we construct a conceptual framework about Amoeba management through revisiting organizational
culture as a tool for control and then analyze Bears Co. Ltd. that has introduced Amoeba management. Finally, we consider theoretical and practical implications produced by our unified explanation on the mechanism that Amoeba management system simultaneously achieves high profits and high value-added, through a focus to entrepreneur's management behavior.

Key words:Amoeba management, Organizational Culture, Subculture,

Junko Ishiguro

Images of Entrepreneurs and Start-ups Perceived by High School Students


Data from previous studies show Entrepreneurs do not hold respectable positions in the Japanese society, and that constricts the activities to create and to open new businesses.
The researchers conducted a questionnaire survey to reveal how high school students perceived images of entrepreneurs before anentrepreneurship education program was launched at a school. Respondents were 172 high school students. Twenty two students were experimental group; the others in control group. Though the result of the survey showed that the students had a sense of respect for entrepreneurs, most of them had neither willingness nor confidence to become entrepreneurs. They did not consider the entrepreneurs as a good option for their career, even when they had a sense of respect for entrepreneurs.
One year later, the researchers conducted the same questionnaire survey for the students. Though the result of the experimental group showed their high regard to entrepreneurs, about 70% of the students made their self-esteem to be an entrepreneur lower compared to the result of pre-survey. The researchers found by interviewing the participants that simulated experience to run a start-up business was so formidable that the students had lost their willingness and confidence.
We also ascertained, however, most of the students had an intention to be a member of a start-up if they were asked by the founder. The students had successful group activities in the simulation, and that made them believe the power of working together to meet their challenges.
An entrepreneurial society needs not only founders, but people who support the start-ups. Therefore the aims of the entrepreneurship education for high school students should include cultivating both entrepreneurs and their supporters.

Key words:Entrepreneurship education,Entrepreneurs, Career choice,High school students

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